Syama Bunten:
Today’s guest has financed over 10 billion in commercial real estate. But what’s more interesting is what she chose to do after she mastered that world. This is a conversation about reinvention, ownership, and learning how to play a much bigger game.

Syama Bunten:
I am here today with the incredible and brilliant Katie Dunn. Katie, not only are you this prolific investor entrepreneur who’s helped founders raise over $30 million, you come from this incredible background of having done banking, financial services, and ultimately helping to finance over 10 billion dollars in commercial real estate, 10 B’s. B is such a big word. I love that. It really speaks to what a force you are in this industry. I’m so excited to have you here today to talk about not just all the things that you are up to, but your life story and all the things that have made you such a prolific woman today who’s really in and around this ecosystem of building and launching successful businesses and supporting incredible founders.

Katie, thank you so much for being here today on Getting Rich Together.

Katie Dunn:
Thank you so much for having me, Syama. I am really excited and honored to be able to chat with you in this forum. We’ve chatted many times, but on your pod is quite an honor. So, thank you.

Syama Bunten:
It’s such a pleasure for me. It’s like one of my favorite things is to sit and hold space and listen to incredible women and their stories because I do believe that in sharing these stories, we ultimately realize that we’re not ahead, we’re not behind. We are all tracking this very unique, beautiful life that we get to have unfold. So with that, Katie, I’d love to start with some of the early days of your beautiful and magical life.

Bring me back to a young girl somewhere between the ages of 10 and 12 years old. Where were you in this world and what was going on around you?

Katie Dunn:
So I was in Minnesota. I grew up outside of Minneapolis. I’d say 10 to 12 is kind of interesting because I was 12 when I started working. 10, I was probably going to camp. 10 to 12, I was going to camp, loved it. Horseback riding, tennis, outdoors, playing with friends. It was a very good place to grow up.

lots of skiing, all the winter sports, all that stuff. So it was fun. But I did start working at my dad’s office when I was about 12. Yeah.

Syama Bunten:
What were you doing at 12 years old? Were you tasked with?

Katie Dunn:
I was tasked, my sister and I, who was 11, were tasked with stuffing envelopes. So my dad worked for a commercial real estate firm. He was very entrepreneurial as well. this firm, back in those days, there’s no email. There’s no email, there’s no car phones, cell phones, none of that. So they were big in office leasing and industrial space leasing.

So they would print out these flyers. They’d have these flyers printed out and then my sister and I would go stuff the envelopes. And then we’d have to like run them through the mail machine and stuff like that.

Syama Bunten:
my God, I love that. So you were at 12 years old already into the world of real estate. It was like already around you. ⁓ my God. So like what of like, did you, what did you know of that world when you were like stuffing envelopes? Like were there any synapses that were being connected and firing at that time? Or was it like, man, I gotta like stuff envelopes and this sucks.

Katie Dunn:
It felt like, honestly, felt cool. Cause you know, when you’re a kid and you like want to play office and you don’t like my friends and I used to play, play office. We were really like at the office. You know, it was, I thought we thought it was cool. And they, got to play on their one computer and things like that. Like it was, it was fun for us. And my dad was very, my dad, my dad was, you know, he took us, my mom worked when I was young. So she worked at a clothing store. And so on the weekends, it was my sister and I were with my dad.

and he would take us to go, he owned an apartment building. And so we would go to the apartment building and we would collect the quarters from the laundry machines. And then we’d have to go up to the landlady’s apartment, who was this wonderful lady that we would separate. She would put red nail polish on her quarters. That was part of the deal of being the landlady that she got free laundry. So we’d separate out her red quarters from the bags of quarters and then we’d take them to the bank. So it was like,

That was like, we felt like we were doing fun stuff. We thought it was cool. My dad was like literally doing chores, but my sister and I loved it. And he would, we’d drive around and look at his buildings that he was working on or look at things that were under construction, stuff like that. So we were always really in it with him.

Syama Bunten:
I love that so much. It’s also, feel like these days you hear people talk about, you know, buying non-sexy businesses like laundromats and things like that, but not everyone I don’t think actually knows like what entails like running the laundromat or separating the quarters and like all, mean, talk about like a fantastic insider’s point of view at a very young age of like,

what everyone now on Instagram is like hyping about. And you’re like, actually, like, let me tell you.

Katie Dunn:
Yeah, it’s no joke. mean, it’s totally no joke. don’t think I don’t know that the larger vats actually take quarters anymore. But it’s, it’s a you have to do cards now, right? Like you put money on cards or something. yeah, it was we did like a lot of those things that now, nowadays are with technology and all that are not even remotely applicable. But it was a way to learn like, yeah, I mean, I

I, it’s funny because I loved the real estate stuff and I loved learning about, you know, understanding why a building was put in the place it was and why it was angled the way it was so that it got enough like visual appeal from the street. And like my sister was like, I did not, she did not like it. She did not care about it. She just did not, she went totally, she went marketing, she worked in movies, she did all this other, she did like totally different stuff. So it was pretty interesting that the.

Oppression it had on me versus her.

Syama Bunten:
That’s just how cool. And so in high school at that time, were you like, did you already have an idea of sort of where you wanted to go in high school or was it sort of an exploratory phase? Like what did you know of yourself at a young age?

Katie Dunn:
I loved math. I loved science. I did a lot of that in high school. I even did my senior year of high school, because I was in the advanced science track. I got to have my own research project at the University of Minnesota. So a couple days a week, would leave school, go to the University of Minnesota, go to my lab and do my work, and then go back to school, which was wild. And it was actually really good. And I’m really glad I did it.

then because I had thought about being a doctor or being, you know, doing science as a career and I hated it so much what I was doing. And so I’m so glad, you know, like took me, I loved, I loved real estate and I always said I wanted to be the financial side of real estate. I had no idea what that really meant or like what kind of jobs that was, but that’s where that, so that opportunity gave me that direction.

Syama Bunten:
But yeah, that like, that is so, that is so amazing. I mean, to be able to like have to have clarity, right, or have some idea of, a direction, I think is so powerful. And so when you had that clarity, like, was your dad like, yeah, she’s like, you know, or like, how did he sort of think about how did it? was the family sort of thoughts here on like the directions that you’re interested in?

Katie Dunn:
You know, I don’t think my dad wanted me to go into real estate. think, you know, especially at that time, it was, you know, so male dominated. I mean, it still is very, very male dominated. And he was, he was a huge proponent of women even back then. And I saw it myself, like even women that today that he, that, you know, he’s long retired, but women today will write him.

Christmas cards, holiday cards, they’ll write him emails. There’s a woman that went on to be the president and owner of the company that he worked for like much later after he left. And I used to babysit her kids. so she and I are still friendly. And she says all the time, I credit your dad for getting me involved in this organization and giving me this opportunity and those kinds of things. he was definitely, I was so lucky in who the person is that raised me and taught me those things.

But I think he also wanted to protect me and he wanted me to do, you know, to be successful. I, but I really liked it. I mean, I really did like it for a really long time. And I, it was very male dominated, but I was okay with that. I have a lot of guy friends and you know, I went to Notre Dame for college. might be getting ahead of things, but it was, you know, I hung around with, that was male dominated too at the time. It was not 50-50. So it was,

It was just a, could hang, I could talk about football, I could talk about guy things in order to get ahead in business. I felt like I needed to do that kind of stuff.

Syama Bunten:
Did you start playing golf?

Katie Dunn:
No. I haven’t. Have you? Have you started playing golf?

Syama Bunten:
so tired.

Katie Dunn:
Have you started playing golf?

Syama Bunten:
I but I’m just wondering. You’re like, I’m talking sports. I’m like, ⁓

Katie Dunn:
That was one thing. do actually, play with my, I will play with my parents every like once or twice a year. I’ll play with them and use my mom’s gloves. And I, it’s fine. It’s just not, I feel like it’s a lot of time. I’m not just, I’m not ready for all that. To put all my time into that.

Syama Bunten:
That’s so funny. so here we find ourselves in university. Are you like heads down books or is Katie done? You know, is Katie kind of a you know, likes to party on the weekends? Or are you working on the weekends? Like what was what was college life like for you? And how are you sort of approaching your future? And what is it you knew of yourself at that time?

Katie Dunn:
Would say that I was not as good of a student as I was in high school College was harder than but that’s because I was I definitely partied on the weekends Like I somebody gave me one of the guys that worked at my dad’s office gave me a really good advice He said going to college. He was like I’m gonna tell you this is the secret Study during the day when all your other friends are screwing around or doing other things study between your classes go to the library

Find a quiet place, find your spot, and that will free you up so you’re not having to cram the night before a test, or you’re not able to not go out to that party on Saturday night, or whatever it is. So I took that to heart, and I was pretty good about that. I definitely, I felt like, mean, college was a blast. I say it all the time, like, I was so lucky. My parents sent me away to hang out with my friends for four years. It was great.

So I took advantage of that. definitely, yeah, I was, I did a lot of, you know, I volunteered, I studied, I was in student government. I, you know, I kind of did all the things that I wanted to do. It was fun.

Syama Bunten:
Oh, I love that so much. You know, it’s funny, like these days when I talk to young people, I’m always like, so like, how, how are you, especially like the young, like, like post grad, you know, they’re just right out of college, and they’re all busy networking and doing all and like, they’re so focused. And I go, well, do you go to dance parties? And like, do you like hang out with people? Because you know, for me, like all of my

career breaks and things really all came from like social things, you know, and just like liking people and being social and it’s such an interesting and different experience now, I feel like for so many young people who are so very, very focused on their education and their studies. And then all of sudden they graduate and they realize that an entire industry has changed in four years. And like, you know, all of this studying is

is good, but it’s also not everything, right?

Katie Dunn:
It’s so funny that you say that. literally had a call today with one of my buddies from college, his daughter, who is a, she’s a junior in college right now and she’s trying to get an internship and she’s a division one lacrosse player. So super talented team sport person, really like just so charming and fun to be around and smiling and good attitude and she’s great. And she’s, so she,

I always wanted to be a lawyer, so she’s a political science major, and then she’s a business minor, but she wants to try finance. And she’s apologizing. She’s like, I just don’t know. I don’t think I can get the investment banking job. I like the finance classes I’ve taken. I think that I’ve done well in them, but I’m not that kid that is going to get hired. And I’m like, OK, stop. You’re going to get hired. And whatever makes sense for you, stop apologizing for what you know or you don’t know.

When somebody asks you, tell them, you know, I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer, so I’ve pursued this, but I’ve really enjoyed and flourished in my finance classes. So I want to do this too. And I want to give this a go and get some real experience before I go to law school or whatever. it’s, I just, felt, you know, she, it’s so competitive these days. It’s crazy. So that’s, and I’m like, I’ll, I’ll hook you up with some.

people that you can talk to and maybe they’ll give you an internship, you no promises, but it’s just so competitive and she’s so, she’s, but you can’t, gotta go in with the attitude like, I can do this. I know if I just get a chance, I can do it. And that’s, that’s where she’s at.

Syama Bunten:
I mean, everyone, mean, that is like, I feel like we’re all at that stage. I’m like, okay, I can do it, Syama. just see. We really need the like, the I can do it attitude, I think now more so than ever, no matter how old you are or what it is that you’re up against. So when you were graduating university, was it, did you find it challenging then to sort of nail your first jobs or was it like, yeah, like?

I know what I want. going after it. This is the salary I want. Like you strike me as someone who probably knew what she wanted and was like, you know, plotting a course here. But how much of that was a strategic plan and how did you start to navigate these first jobs outside of university?

Katie Dunn:
So I interviewed, I did the interviews, some of the interviews at school, but there wasn’t a lot of real estate that came through. It just wasn’t really a thing. So I was really, again, lucky that one of my parents’ friends was in real estate in Chicago and I wanted to live in Chicago after college. ⁓ So he set me up right before, it was right before 4th of July weekend.

I drove to Chicago from Minneapolis and he set me up. went to his office first thing in the morning with a map and he gave me a map and he said set up like five or six interviews with me and he had plotted them all out through the suburbs and ending up in downtown Chicago. And so I went around and met with all these people and they’re all informational interviews. And one of the last ones, I think it was the last one, it was with a guy who told me,

immediately upon me going into his office. I don’t have any jobs for you. I’m just doing this because of the favor to John. I was like, that’s okay. Thank you. And so we just chat and he was he was so direct and but funny and clever and but nice. He was really he was great. So a couple like a week after I left, you I went home, I actually went on vacation with a bunch of girlfriends and then

wrote all my thank you notes to everybody and did the whole thing. I had a couple other second interviews, but this one, this guy called me back and said, I actually might have a job for you. You really remind me of this other person that’s working with us. And I liked that type of person. You’re somebody that grew up in real estate that really passionately wants to be in real estate. not just doing this just for a job. You know, all these ticked all these boxes for him and he created a position for me. So it was,

It was amazing. He’s still a he’s long retired too, but he was a wonderful man. But I credit him for yeah, for giving me my my real start because it it was it was a great opportunity. I ended up transferring to New York with that company. And yeah, it was great. Yeah.

Syama Bunten:
God. And so at that time, you know, obviously, this person’s creating a role for you. So like, who’s to know what the competitive like, you know, competitive salary is? I mean, obviously, getting a job on its own is like, a big deal. Being able to move to New York with the company is a big deal. Like these are all great milestones. At what point were you like, ⁓ I’m really good at this. And like, you know, I want to continue. I like there’s always like,

Because you’re not just working in real estate at this point, now you’re also working in this corporate culture, which is really different than sort of working with dad, right? And like having a different family dynamic. When did you sort of start to realize that like, okay, this was a game that you were excited about, that you wanted to sort of continue pursuing? And then how did you start to parlay your desires into these next roles that you would take on?

Katie Dunn:
Yeah, I so the first role I had was an as an analyst for mortgage bankers. So these people are the ones that are have the property owner relationship and the banking relationship and they’re putting the two together. And I, you know, like a broker and it was so we’re doing big deals, mostly in and around Chicago. I financed so many millions of dollars of Walgreens deals. I can’t even tell you because that was one of our big clients.

would build a bunch of Walgreens. But I quickly realized I didn’t want to be a broker. And I wanted there would be all these bankers that would come in. And they were the ones with the money. And I just I saw that. And what they were doing, and I realized I need to have the money, I think as a woman, I’m going to have a better chance of success if I have the money. So the company that I worked for had

create or had bought this little lending arm or created this little lending arm. And it was a securitization. I don’t want to get too technical, but it was the birth of securitization where you’d package up a bunch of loans and then have them raided and peel them off and sell them as bonds. So it was those, it was early days of that. And I really saw that as an opportunity to get in. And I, that’s what I went for. And that was,

where I spent the majority of my real estate career in those kind of deals, which were a lot of fun. was like, it was, I did everything from underwriting to originating, meaning like I was the one that would go out and work with the brokers or the building owners and get their deals. I even, asset managed loans, I ran portfolios, I did all kinds of different things. it was,

Syama Bunten:
It sounds like it’s one of those things where the more you peel back, the more there is to learn. like, there’s like so many, it’s like, talk about like, you know, the very niche specialization and one specific thing. And then there’s like this other very important, but tangential specific thing and sort of this, this like big can of worms. At what point in your career in these early days, did things start to

materially change for you? You know, was it through, you know, asking for, I don’t know, better commissions? I don’t know if you operated that way or if it was asking for bonuses or salary negotiations. When did you start to realize the power of your intelligence and what you were able to sort of bring to the table?

Katie Dunn:
Yeah, so we were bonus. We were like the kind of investment banking bonus. That’s how that structure worked. it was the thing that was interesting is that while that business commercial mortgage backed securities or CNBS is what we refer to it as really small world, like super small world. But the way that you made money was you jumped. You went to a different shop. And so where I felt like

Like I would get poached basically. would get, people would say, hey, I’m going to the shop. Do you want to come with me? Or people I’d worked with in the past would say, hey, we’re hiring, come work here. that was the way, that was when I realized, I’ve got a little bit of leverage. I can make more money. I can do more things if I jump.

Syama Bunten:
Awesome. And as you started to start to realize some of these material changes, like what sort of investor did you find yourself to be? Obviously, your father is very entrepreneurial. Did you take a 180 from that? And were you more risk averse with what you were doing with your capital? Did you also start investing in real estate or other assets? When did you start to

And how did you start to think about some of these early on investing strategies for yourself?

Katie Dunn:
So the first way I dabbled was in stocks. my dad, as you might imagine, he was a huge proponent of financial literacy for both me and my sister. I remember him taking us to open up our first bank accounts. And so he would buy both of us stocks for Christmas. Like once we got, I think we were probably out of college, maybe a year or two out of college. then he would say,

And he set us up with a ⁓ person at Merrill Lynch and we had our own person to talk to. And it was that money that I also invested with him that I bought my first apartment. And then I made a bunch of money from selling that and buying another apartment. And so it was really mostly about stocks and individual, like residential real estate at the beginning. I have invested

I had some opportunities to invest in commercial real estate and both of them went south in 2008, which was tough. it’s investments that I knew the risks and I could afford to lose, just like any investment.

Yeah, so real estate, commercial real estate hasn’t been good to me. My residential real estate has been great. I’ve done well in buying and selling apartments and in my life. yeah, and then I got into angel investing. I started with a movie. you did you know? Did we ever talked entertainment stuff? I don’t think we you and I

Syama Bunten:
we haven’t.

Katie Dunn:
Yeah, a friend of mine was, or he, yeah, he’s not really, he’s doing other things now, but he was an actor and had a comedy group in LA. And he was, he wrote, he did a bunch of movies with that group and then he was doing his first one that was on his own. So he wrote and was directing it. And I just, I had always wanted to learn about that. I just thought it was so interesting and fun.

And so I put a little syndicate together and we were the first check in and the movie got, it premiered at Tribeca, which was super fun, but we made no money. So yeah, and it’s great. I’m super proud of it. It’s a great cast and all the things, but yeah.

Syama Bunten:
How old were you when you did that investment into the movie?

Katie Dunn:
Oh, that was, let’s see, I was probably 40. Yeah, I think I was 40. Yeah.

Syama Bunten:
So awesome to be able to like these sorts of, anyway, let’s keep double clicking through things, like this sort of like, I feel like timing and sizing and stability, right? And sort of where you are when you start to make these different investments. like when you made your first, let’s say like residential real estate investment, what was, when did you do that? did you, how did you sort of decide what the right?

the right purchase was going to be for you and was it something where you were really strategic about I’m going to buy this and hold this for a certain period of time? Obviously real estate is your world, but at what point did you start to apply these ideas into your own portfolio?

Katie Dunn:
Yeah, so my first apartment, was, I think like 28 when I bought it in New York. it was, then it was a financial decision, know, and I, work you needed, you need 20 % down normally, it was a co-op. So it was, had a lot of rules and all of that. But I was lucky because I got chunks of money in my bonuses, right? So I had that cash that I could put to work there.

And the month at the time where interest rates were that monthly payment was a fraction of what I would have paid in rent. So it was it was great. So was able to

Syama Bunten:
to

amazing. Yeah.

Katie Dunn:
Yeah, but I put a little bit of money, like, I mean, a couple thousand dollars into that place and I almost doubled it five years later. Yeah. I mean, that’s a lot of market. was good location. It was clean and nice and all that, all the things. And then, yeah. And then, you know, I’ve gotten lucky with buying stuff in good interest rate environments. That’s part of, that’s just luck. You can’t always.

that. But I’m a big believer in real estate is a very can be a very big driver of wealth and and creator of wealth. So if you can find something in a down market or you have a little couple bucks to invest and put some money into it to fix it up and flip it, I mean, you can make a lot of money.

Syama Bunten:
That’s really exciting. I feel like there are so many great stories that I’ve heard that really have an anchor around real estate as far as the opportunities for leverage and a very great long-term strategy. Obviously today you’re not working day to day in the real estate spaces and you find yourself now occupied with lots of different kinds of businesses.

in lots of different ways of sort of seeing growth and working in these like, also risky and exciting environments. At what point and when did you start to cultivate, you know, outside of what you would know? So let’s say it’s like, you know, equities, because thanks, dad, for supporting you and then starting to build within this area that you have your career. So getting into real estate, when did you start to and how did you start thinking about investing?

in different asset classes beyond these two things that we’re so familiar.

Katie Dunn:
was always interested in angel investing and what that meant. I don’t even think I knew the term that it was an angel investor when I would think about this, but my cousin is a very successful entrepreneur. When she sold her first company, she was then investing in some companies. She’s been a mentor and I’ve worked with her over certain times of my life. So watching her do that was a big inspiration.

Also when Uber went public and the news was like, you know, the people that invested $5,000 made 5 million. was like, how do I do that? Like, how does that opportunity happen? know, obviously knowing, yeah, that was a, that was crazy. And that was a total anomaly or whatever, but just trying to understand like I, in, so in real estate, when you’re looking at deals and I looked at, you know, I financed so many office buildings, industrial portfolios, retail,

centers and you have to look at all the tenants in the building to make sure they’re financially stable enough to pay the rent. So you always look at the, you always underwrite the biggest tenants and you look at their financial statements if they’re a publicly traded company or sometimes the owner will get their financial statements. So I was constantly looking at those things and then I would have to go visit the properties. So I would see their operations. I mean, I’ve seen some of the coolest things like

a mile long Amazon warehouse in Arizona. I got the behind the scenes tour that nobody was able to go do, but I had to see it for this loan. Things like that are just like, there’s caves in Kansas City that are all industrial, operate as industrial buildings and there’s a huge printing operations there that prints like the majority of cereal boxes.

like crazy stuff like yeah and that’s next to like a passport of a huge place where they keep all the passport records and stuff crazy the US State Department crazy stuff so all of those that’s what I loved learning about all those businesses I loved seeing how they operated and it really all of those things open up my eyes like there’s so much other opportunity out there there’s so many other

Syama Bunten:
Thank

Katie Dunn:
problems being solved through these businesses that it was that was super intriguing to me and I I think that’s what led me into angel investing is that I I Felt like okay I can I know I can learn about these businesses because I’ve learned about so many businesses in the past night I know a lot I know a little bit about a lot of different things from looking at all these types of businesses over the years, so Yeah, so I start I went deep in a couple areas like

beverage being one of them, spirits and non-alcohol beverages, and then kind of B2B sass, would say, are sort of my wheelhouses.

Syama Bunten:
How did you start to, you know, obviously to go from, and it sounds like, you know, it sounds like maybe some of these deal flows were more available to you vis-a-vis family or sort of other opportunities, but how did you start to go from, you know, I saw this thing and I see it all the time on Instagram. It’s like this company made this amount. If you invested at this time and you’re sitting there going, my God, so much FOMO.

How did you go from that to then being able to not only write your first check, but also to have the confidence to do that, right? So like, my God, I’m gonna write this check and I have no idea what’s gonna happen. But further to that, like to have a sense of financial stability to feel like this was something, because I do think that there’s something to be said about the right confluence of things, right? It’s like the…

Katie Dunn:
success.

Syama Bunten:
confidence to do it and then also this financial stability to say I can take these sorts of levels of risk. How did you sort of piece together and when did you start maybe looking into it versus when did you start investing into it?

Katie Dunn:
Yeah, so I wrote the first check because of opportunity. that was one of the, I think you hit the nail on the head with how all those things need to come together. It is about access to deals and who is in your network that is doing something worth investing in. And it was one of my buddies from work came into my office and said, I know you’ve done

outside investments, the bank we worked for, had to get permission. And it’s from the bank, so it wasn’t a conflict. And so he, said, I’ll tell you how to, I did it, but you have to tell me what you’re investing in. And he said, my brother-in-law is starting a gin company. And I said, okay, I want in. It just sounded fun and interesting. And it’s the, they’re in Ireland and

It’s now it’s my largest investment by far. on the board. You know, the founder and I are super close. I love everything that we, you know, now we have a rum brand as well. And it’s just been, it’s been fantastic. So that one, that’s been really, really fun. I mean, it’s, there’s ups and downs to everything. I’ve learned so much about the three tier system in the U S so screwed up. There’s so many problems to be solved there. But anyway, it’s just, it’s,

It’s been really interesting. going deep with that was a lot of fun. then once I did that one, so I wrote that check and then I was like, okay, I got to get myself a little more educated. I took the Yale Women on Boards class, which was phenomenal. Absolutely loved it. That was a really good, not only network, but kind of level set in governance and what that

and how do these things operate? It was more focused around corporate boards, but it was really relevant. And you have to think about all those things at the beginning, right? You have to think about the company structure. How are you setting it up? Who’s doing what? How are you going to make sure that all this compliance and all these things are in place and all that? So it was great. And then COVID hit and

I was home working for the bank, dealing with all the fallout in real estate because nobody was going to work, nobody was going to the store, and nobody could go to the gym, right? Nobody was doing anything, so people weren’t paying their rent. It was crazy. But I also had more time because I wasn’t trapped. I wasn’t going out with friends. I just had more time. So I took an angel investing class, which was

phenomenal. That was all over zoom and again, built another great network there. And so it was, that was really helpful. And just like, I know the finance that I could build a model in my sleep, but just understanding the terms, how do people look at things? What are the metrics that they’re measuring versus what you look at in a real estate deal? They’re different things, you know, all that. So that was really great. And so opportunities came from that and opportunities came from other networks. And then you put,

angel investor in your LinkedIn profile and watch out. The DMs are brutal.

Syama Bunten:
I mean, I think, you one of the things that I love about how you show up in the world is that you are so authentic and real and honest and kind. so that means that, you know, I like to call this like, you know, firm kindness, right? Where it’s like, let me share with you my boundaries and tell you how to engage with me. And if you mess that up, well, that’s on you. can’t can’t help you with that.

which I think is so incredible. So how have you been in these last few years? know, you are so well known in the spaces of angel investing, but also in mentorship and really providing so much guidance to these founders that I almost feel like there’s a, there’s some sort of, you know, badge that these founders should have. That’s like, I’ve been Katie Dunn approved, you know, where everyone knows that like, okay, like these guys are.

These guys are ready. You know, I always feel like for these early angel investors and those who have started investing and are trying to figure out how to do diligence, you know, the stamp of approval, I think is actually so important because I think that there are so many women who are writing checks for the very first time who are still learning. Right. And so having having something that feels more vetted and I think is so so powerful. But can you share a little bit about this?

pivot, right? And this sort of direction and what it looks like today for you, you know, is it still is it like, okay, we still have these, you know, real estate, like, you know, owning these buildings and this is still happening and I’m doing checks and I get to spend my time with these founders. How are you allocating your time and your energy and your resources right now such that you’re able to show up in this like very prolific way for so many founders right now?

Katie Dunn:
Yeah, so every day, I mean, every day looks different. That’s for sure. It’s a lot of zooming, which is fine. I’m actually really grateful for it because I get to live where I want to live and still be present for people and available for people. So right now I am leaning heavily into AI. I have built digital twins of myself. One I call the investor, one I call the advisor.

And those I’ve dumped like all the frameworks, everything I’ve written, everything I’ve built over the past couple of years into them so that they’re, they’re basically me and they even have my voice. So they, they, can give people like a big part of my ethos is like, want to, I really want, I was turning so, so many founders away because I, you know, I don’t work directly with people that are outside of the U S because if I’m going to make introductions, it doesn’t make sense if they’re not.

A lot of investors want US based companies for tax reasons and all those things. it just gets harder to do that. I don’t take those. don’t always take, people have limited budgets. They can’t always afford me. I’m expensive. There’s timing things. It’s just not gonna work out. I’m full on clients right now. Whatever it is, these digital twins are always on, always available to answer questions. Their monthly subscription really reasonably

And the best is like seeing them win. have one woman who’s won more than $45,000 in grants using my digital twins as helping her build out her applications. Yeah. Incredible. So, you know, things like that, like that it’s, it’s like, okay, great. It’s working my, you know, my, can put my brain into something else and help. So there’s those, I do a lot of writing. I create a lot of, of

frameworks and even just LinkedIn posts, things like that. And then, yeah, I zoom a lot with founders and just, you know, everything from one-on-one offering a half an hour of advice based on what they can tell me in that half hour, I do those calls through Hubble, and then to working with founders on a retainer basis and like helping them all through their fundraising strategy. But I built some tools that help me

Digest what they need to say in their pitch script and then put out their pitch their the content for their deck That I used to take months and months to do it would be this back and forth and a lot of editing now I can do I have a pitch a good pitch deck built or the content for it built in three hours which is like the script and the deck and then you just populate it in Canberra whatever but

It’s pretty great. And then, you know, then I’ll make intros for founders that to whatever they might need, if it’s fractional CFOs or marketing people or, you know, or investors. But everybody knows that when they get an intro from me, that this is really important. This goes to my, you know, what you’re saying about me being direct and all that and reputation and the stamp of Katie Dunn. That’s, that’s like everything to me. That’s the only thing like that’s my most valuable asset, right? Is my reputation in my network.

So I only make intros for people that I really, really believe in and they know that they’re gonna be, you’re never gonna have somebody waste your time. If I say, Syama, will you get on the phone with this person? I think you’re gonna really enjoy them. You know, it’s not gonna be a waste of your time. You’re gonna get some value out of it. It’s not just you giving. I always want it to be a value exchange rather than a, have to help this person kind of thing.

It’s, but it’s, you know, it’s, it’s a, it’s a lot. It’s definitely a lot.

Syama Bunten:
Yeah, it’s and so are you currently in your this work? Do you still like actively manage any real like are you fully out of like

Katie Dunn:
Pulling

out of banking and real estate. Yeah. Yeah. So I left that about three years ago. basically got so, you know, it was, I just got frustrated with the bank that I was working at, what I was doing. It was like a very big dipotomy of I’m spending some time in this interesting world of startups, which was really calling me and like the positivity and the growth and the opportunity and real estate was

all bad, all risk management. And there’s a balance there, right? That risk management is obviously super important. But it was a very, you I was over the environment that I was in. I wasn’t going to get promoted. wasn’t going to, they weren’t going to move me up. It was, I was, I like to say banging my head against the cement ceiling because it was not glass. It was cement. I didn’t, you know, so I went to them and said, Hey, give me a package.

I’ll tell you exactly who can do each part of my job and you won’t miss a beat. And they finally did. Yeah. So that’s when I started working with founders full time. Yeah.

Syama Bunten:
Woo, Katie, that is like, mean, you’re so good communicator. ⁓ Talk about leaving with like elegance, you know, like what an elegant way to be like, okay, here’s, you know, here’s the setup, like, best of luck, see you never. like, I’m out of here. man, I love that. And so as you’re sort of looking now at this whole new

chapter and you know your quick sort of ability to be on the ground and be this woman who’s got a perspective who is really you know talk about being in the trenches like this is not easy work that you’re up against and what you’re doing here. When you think about your life let’s say from a young age of 110 which you know I do believe we’re going to be alive so much longer than we think we will.

certainly based on the rate of technology, your AI twins will be around for infinity. So yeah, there’s that. But when you start to think about legacy and this body of work and your intelligence and your aptitude and all that you’re building, and this really what feels to me like stepping into this part that’s like very heart and mind aligned, you really seem like a woman on a mission here. What is the sort of body of work or legacy that you’re hoping to leave on this planet?

Katie Dunn:
Well, I want to be very clear that I am doing this, all of this to make a ton of money too. And it’s, I’m not apologizing for that. Like this is like this, I want to make money and have these founders that I’ve invested in make a ton of money too. And so my whole thing is the more women founders I can support and get them rich, they can help the next.

and the next and the next. And we won’t have this huge funding gap and exit gap and all these things when it comes to women owned businesses. So that’s a big part of it. And the other part is, you know, I think I feel good when somebody is like, yeah, you’ve made that intro and it changed everything for me or it, you know, it’s the. I’ve got I’ve got a resource that I can provide that has made a difference that that makes me feel good. It just it’s, you know.

But I do want to get rich too. like, that’s a big, you know, or invest my money wisely and be able to celebrate that and live that and, you know, pass that on to other people. That’s a big part of it.

Syama Bunten:
Yeah, I love that. mean, this is why we’re on the getting rich together podcast. Yeah, this is like this is what we’re up for. My last two final questions for you, Katie. The first is obviously we’ve spoken a lot about investing about these different asset classes. But certainly money is really fun. And there are lot of great things we can do with our money. What is some of your or what has been your most favorite recent

saying item experience that you have spent your money on lately.

Katie Dunn:
That’s a good question. I don’t know something lately, but I’ll tell you, can I do what I did for my 50th birthday? This is a few weeks ago. So I went to Miraval in Tucson, Arizona. Have you ever been there?

Syama Bunten:
I have not been. I would like to go there. That is on my list.

Katie Dunn:
You would love it so much. know you would love it so much. So I went there for almost a week and it was it was it was by myself and it was totally like it. I wouldn’t say it’s not indulgent because it’s not the food is really healthy and you don’t really drink and all that kind of stuff. So it’s not like indulgent in that way. it’s but it’s the way I indulged it was I didn’t have to. The only decisions I had to make is what I wanted to do that day.

and I could go to any class they offered. I could go get a massage. I could go to a workout class. could, you know, like that, just doing whatever I wanted to do was. Yeah. ⁓

Syama Bunten:
that. And then my final question is, you know, everyone who listens to the show, we’re so keen on rallying around the women who are on the show. And so when it comes to what you are calling in right now, what we can do for you, Katie, what what can we do for you? What do need right now?

Katie Dunn:
say I want more founders or more people testing the digital twins. They’ve been live for just over three months and I’ve had, I should probably have looked at the stat, but well over 200 people try them and they’re really making a difference. I know I’m early in this and you and I have talked about this a little bit offline, but the digital twin thing I think it’s going to be a thing and I know I’m early on it and I just want to

more people to

Syama Bunten:
Okay!

I mean, I think that’s so cool. I’m like, okay, maybe I’ll try.

Katie Dunn:
make one I a friend of mine recently told me I should make one that’s an angel and angel investors so that other angel investors can use it. I just need to I need to reprogram one to do or I need to program another one I should say

Syama Bunten:
I mean, would you please do that and then let us know when?

Katie Dunn:
Like what we were talking about before like yeah, I just I needed more people to say yes, this is a good

Syama Bunten:
idea.

Yes, it’s a good idea. Okay, I think it’s a really good idea. Katie Dunn, you are an incredible woman with a beautiful smile. And you are obviously brilliant, have done big things, and will continue to do even bigger things on this planet. Thank you for being here today on Getting Rich Together.

Katie Dunn:
Thank you so much, Syama. It’s a total honor to see you. Thank you so much.